What are you currently reading?

[Artem]

Finished today. Bolano is one of my all time favourite writers.

[vandermolen]

Did they not invent Gematria?

Haha - had to look up that word.

[vers la flamme]

Kobo Abe's Woman In Dunes, which I like. You may want to check it out

Thanks, I'll put that one on the list. Been meaning to check out some Kobo Abe. I don't know if hardcore artistic is how I'd describe Oyamada, though she does seem to be very much an aesthetic-forward writer (not unlike Mishima in that regard, now that I think about it). But I may have picked up on a bit of a "this is serious literature" kind of feeling to her writing, that others might see as a flaw. But again, I did enjoy it a lot. Looking forward to your reviews of her work if you ever do check 'em out. I know there's a whole lot to read out there.

Reading Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Still hooked on Murakami's writing. I don't know whether I'll read all of his books that are available in English, and I don't really have that as a goal, but I'm well on my way there, anyway. I have been wanting to get back into running and this is further inspiration. Murakami is a seriously disciplined kind of dude.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Thanks, I'll put that one on the list. Been meaning to check out some Kobo Abe. I don't know if hardcore artistic is how I'd describe Oyamada, though she does seem to be very much an aesthetic-forward writer (not unlike Mishima in that regard, now that I think about it). But I may have picked up on a bit of a "this is serious literature" kind of feeling to her writing, that others might see as a flaw. But again, I did enjoy it a lot. Looking forward to your reviews of her work if you ever do check 'em out. I know there's a whole lot to read out there.

Reading Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Still hooked on Murakami's writing. I don't know whether I'll read all of his books that are available in English, and I don't really have that as a goal, but I'm well on my way there, anyway. I have been wanting to get back into running and this is further inspiration. Murakami is a seriously disciplined kind of dude.

As I haven't read Oyamada, certainly I trust your observation. She won the prestigeous Akutagawa prize, which is usually awarded to serious, artistic literate works. In contrast, the Naoki prize is usually awarded to more mass-oriented novels. Waseda University in Tokyo is opening what is called Murakami Library this year. You may want to visit there someday, make friends, and eat nice food.

https://thesmartlocal.com/japan/haruki-murakami-library/

Finished today. Bolano is one of my all time favourite writers.

Interesting! I will look for a copy.

[Artem]

Reading Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. Still hooked on Murakami's writing. I don't know whether I'll read all of his books that are available in English, and I don't really have that as a goal, but I'm well on my way there, anyway. I have been wanting to get back into running and this is further inspiration. Murakami is a seriously disciplined kind of dude.

Not all Murakami's books are as great as his earlier work, but I think reading chronologically most of his writing available in English within a year, for example, could be a very enjoyable project. His non-fiction complements well his fiction.

[Ganondorf]

[vers la flamme]

Raymond Carver, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love



Having finished Haruki Murakami's running memoir whose title pays tribute to this classic collection, I figured there's no time like the present to finally read some Ray Carver. Wow. I'm hugely impressed with the beautiful writing here. It's not at all what I expected, which was bleak, joyless, depressing minimalist narratives of downtrodden working-class Americans. Well, I guess that's all there, too, but what I'm finding more impressive is the deep poetry in this writing, which seems obsessed with the minutiae of life and the specter of death. This is dark stuff, sure, but some of it warms my heart, especially the stories toward the middle of the book. I'm fairly close to finishing and I suspect I'll be reading more Carver quite soon.

[SimonNZ]

Nearly finished:



More than lives up to its reputation as a classic of humour.


Quarter of the way in (and somewhat less funny):

[aligreto]

Definitely a worthwhile read.

[vers la flamme]

Raymond Carver, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love



Having finished Haruki Murakami's running memoir whose title pays tribute to this classic collection, I figured there's no time like the present to finally read some Ray Carver. Wow. I'm hugely impressed with the beautiful writing here. It's not at all what I expected, which was bleak, joyless, depressing minimalist narratives of downtrodden working-class Americans. Well, I guess that's all there, too, but what I'm finding more impressive is the deep poetry in this writing, which seems obsessed with the minutiae of life and the specter of death. This is dark stuff, sure, but some of it warms my heart, especially the stories toward the middle of the book. I'm fairly close to finishing and I suspect I'll be reading more Carver quite soon.

Man, that book was amazing! Going to see if I can't pick up one of Carver's other collections later today, after work.

Curious what the GMG community thinks of Ray Carver. Any fans?

[Artem]

I'm a big fan of Raymond Carver. Got to him via Murakami too. I have 3 or 4 of his books. They are all kind of the same, but that doesn't make them less interesting. His writing is great when you want to clear your mind after a reading a dense, long book.

Recently finished these two relatively short novels. My Friends was pretty good, very tranquil and humanistic look into a person's state. Mishima's book was odd and felt like Tales from the Crypt series. It was written for Playboy, which explains its bizarreness.

[vers la flamme]

More Raymond Carver, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?



I love it. Very much in the same vein as the later collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. Simple, beautiful stories, sometimes dark, sometimes heartwarming, always featuring characters who are more complex than they might at first seem. This being his debut collection, many of these stories were written before Carver kicked the booze for good. There are only a couple more collections of his stories that I still have yet to read, but I may take up Artem's suggestion of returning to it as a "palate cleanser" after a more challenging read. In any case, I suspect I will be returning to Love and Quiet for a long time to come.

One last brief comment: these Vintage Contemporaries editions are absolutely beautiful. Vintage is probably my favorite publisher of trade paperbacks.

@Artem, it seems you and I may go for the same kind of books. Have you read any other Mishima? I've been wanting to check that one out, but from what I can tell, it's somewhat of an oddity among his works.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Man, that book was amazing! Going to see if I can't pick up one of Carver's other collections later today, after work.

Curious what the GMG community thinks of Ray Carver. Any fans?

I read many positive reviews on the book at Amazon, I must get a copy.

Mishima's book was odd and felt like Tales from the Crypt series. It was written for Playboy, which explains its bizarreness.

That's an outlier among Mishima's works though I personally love his writing in the novel. Mishima just had fun writing silly and ridiculous, and he showed that he was very good at it. Confessions of a Mask, Sound of Waves, Gold Pavilion, and Sailor Who Fell From Grace (I never liked the English title) are typical works of Mishima. Plus, Death in Midsummer and Other Stories, and Five Noh Plays, are enjoyable collections of his works.

Now reading Medieval Architecture by Nicola Coldstream.

P.s. It's worth watching the movie of Sailors Who Fell.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Great book!

[Ganondorf]

It most definitely is! Much better than I remembered!

[Artem]

@Artem, it seems you and I may go for the same kind of books. Have you read any other Mishima? I've been wanting to check that one out, but from what I can tell, it's somewhat of an oddity among his works.

As Dry Brett Kavanaugh points out Life for Sale is indeed an outlier in Mishima's oeuvre. It is probably worth reading after finishing Mishima's major works.

I've only read a couple of Mishima's novels, including Confessions of a Mask, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and The Frolic of the Beasts. I enjoyed them all to a different degree. To me Mishima is a kind of writer that I would try to read everything he published.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I like Mishima when he doesn't bring his social ideology.
In contrast to its cover, Death in Midsummer offers accessible and non-disturbing stories. The Noh Plays compiles interesting and creative plays. Highly recommended.

[Artem]

I'll follow you recommendations next time I'm buying Mishima's books. Thank you very much.

[vers la flamme]

Just finished Hiroko Oyamada's The Factory



What a strange book, which had a shocking twist ending of sorts. I enjoyed it a lot, for its dense, oppressive atmosphere and its often whimsical world-building. The author really succeeded in conjuring a workplace that seems to go on forever and ever, temporally and spatially. It's a pretty freaky reading experience. My biggest critique is that the story of one of the three narrators really doesn't seem to go anywhere, and fizzles out a little bit before the end of the novel. But that aside, it's a good book. I'd recommend reading both of Oyamada's novellas that have been translated into English, but ultimately I think I preferred The Hole. Excited to read more from this promising young author. Unfortunately it seems she is not the most prolific writer in the world.

[Artem]

Enjoyed your review. I was also hooked on the atmosphere of that book.